Batter Jug c. 1938

John Tarantino made this watercolor of a batter jug; we don't know exactly when. It’s all about the soft, almost hesitant touch here; Tarantino's mark-making feels like he's feeling his way through the object. The surface of the jug is rendered with such care, you can almost feel the cool, rough texture of the ceramic. Notice how the cobalt blue flower bleeds slightly into the grey of the jug. The bloom is a burst of folk art energy. This controlled looseness is what gives the painting its charm. The rusty lid sits a top of the vessel; the contrast between the blue and the red creates a sense of depth. Tarantino’s work reminds me of Charles Burchfield, who invested humble subjects with a similar radiant intensity. This painting invites us to slow down, to savor the quiet beauty of everyday objects, to find poetry in the mundane.